See Change — I have always been a fan of Tim O'Reilly's phrase the “architecture of participation” to describe “systems designed for user contribution.” I liked it so much that at last year's OSCON I made this concept the focal point of a discussion about how Microsoft's products, programs …

Welcome to the bigger, better, faster SkyDrive! — We know it's been mighty quiet on the SkyDrive blog, but we've been hard at work on a new version that we're proud to announce today! — You've made two things clear since our first release: You want more space; and you want SkyDrive where you are.

Windows Live SkyDrive to offer 5gb free storage? — Thanks to tipster (tips*at*liveside*dot*net) Liam, it looks like we're about to see a significant upgrade to the online storage feature from Windows Live, SkyDrive, to 5gb free: — We've called for an increase in the storage capacity …

Microsoft: Vista SP1 will break these programs — Microsoft has published a list of programs that will not work or that will suffer from reduced functionality after the installation of Vista Service Pack 1. — The list of programs consists mostly of security applications, such as Trend Micro Internet Security 2008.

Disk encryption: Can you trust it? — Computer scientists have discovered a novel way to bypass the encryption used in programs like Microsoft's BitLocker and Apple's FileVault and then view the contents of supposedly secure files. — In a paper (PDF) published Thursday that could prompt …

The Chumby Is Open, but Not for Business — I find Chumby fascinating for a lot of reasons. Meant to replace a clock radio, it is a $179 device with a Wi-Fi connection, a 3.5 inch touch screen and a squishy leather case. It displays various widgets with information pulled off the Internet …

Maritz joins EMC, to battle Microsoft in the cloud — Microsoft's cloud computing efforts have a formidable and familiar new competitor. — Paul Maritz, the former Microsoft platform boss, is becoming president of EMC's cloud computing initiative, which competes directly with Microsoft.

Ask.com Binoculars Adds Compete.com Stats — Ask.com has announced that they have added site statistics from Compete.com to the binoculars feature in the search results. Now, instead of just getting a site preview, you also get estimated visitor stats, site rank, a line chart to plot …

TechCrunch, Peaking, Etc. — A lot of people write a lot of stuff that's pretty negative about TechCrunch. Since I don't actually do an ego monitor, we miss most of it. But every once in a while something bubbles up and I see it. Usually I don't respond because it just encourages more of the same.

Sorry, Boys, This Is Our Domain — THE prototypical computer whiz of popular imagination — pasty, geeky, male — has failed to live up to his reputation. — Research shows that among the youngest Internet users, the primary creators of Web content (blogs, graphics, photographs, Web sites) …

Optimus Maximus Shipping News — We begin shipping Optimus Maximus keyboards to those who ordered it last year. At the same time, first versions of Optimus Configurator software for Mac and PC are available at: http://www.artlebedev.com/everything/ optimus/downloads/